Series: Wow! Whose Young Daughter Is That? (Part 5) Behold A Woman Lay At This Feet?

SERIES: “WOW! WHOSE YOUNG DAUGHTER IS THAT? (PART 5) BEHOLD A WOMAN LAY AT THIS FEET? – AS IT TURNED OUT (RUTH 2:3)

1. Ruth 3:7-14: 7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned - and there was a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer[b] of our family.” 10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”

2. Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. 5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Whose Beautiful Young Daughter Is That?”

Intro: Wow! Whose Young Daughter Is That? Part 5: Behold A Woman Lay At His Feet

SERIES: An Intro (God Can Change Your Story); Love Is More Than Kissing; Getting Out Of Mara – Dealing With Bitterness; Father’s Day Message - Where Did Elimelech Go Wrong?, Behold A Woman Lay At His Feet; The Dating Game – Sexy Sunday; Characteristics Of A Good Spouse (What Do People Know About You?); Here Comes The Bride; When The Honeymoon Is Over - How Satan Attacks Christian Marriages; What Do You Do When You Realize You’ve Married The Wrong Person; The In-Laws Factor; You Can Begin Again (About Divorce Or Death); Life Without A Spouse, Etc.

KINDS OF SUFFERING THEY WENT THROUGH

The Unseen Future: Example: Elimelech ("God is my king") marries Naomi ("sweet one"). A marriage made in heaven. "God is my King" & "sweet one" have 2 kids – Mahlon ("sickly") and Chilion (“wasting away"). Why were 2 sickly kids born to such wonderful couple? One marries Ruth (“friend) & Orpah (“neck”). Why did famine come? Why do kids die? Why are we disappointed though committed to relationships? Why does anyone face illness? Why do natural disasters occur?

WE HAVE SEEN THE KIND OF PAST THAT RUTH COMES WITH

1. Ruth’s Genealogy - Moab: Compromised Separation. The 2 sons, “Took wives of the Moabites” (1:4). Ruth was hopeless because God condemned Moab. Deut. 23:3 A “Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord - even to their 10th generation”. God’s grace.

2. Ruth Was formerly an Idol Worshipper: That is hard to leave behind.

3. Ruth Married Into A Backslidden Family. Planned temporary regression from God. “Went to sojourn in Moab” (1:1).

4. Ruth Is A Widow: A stigma for most people – who feel they cannot get married to someone who was already married.

5. Ruth Was A Widow With No Inheritance. All the men died. Property went to someone else.

6. Ruth Was Childless: They never blame the man but the woman. In such society where children were highly valued, they saw her childlessness as her problem.

7. Ruth Was Poor & Attached To A Destitute Mother-In-Law & Bad Advisor. Who wants to marry a woman who has nothing? Even if for beauty, you cannot just sit at home.

8. Ruth Would Have No Family Connection In Israel. She was a lonely stranger.